Martha H. Email & Phone Number

Miami, Fl, Us

Miami, Florida, United States

30 years of experience, including fraud and corruption: (a) for a decade in Brazil, as a civil and criminal state prosecutor; (b) at the United Nations; (c) at the World Bank Group; and (d) at the International Monetary Fund.As an attorney in the U.S., Martha has experience in international commercial litigation cases, as well as advising individual and corporate clients in parallel US and Brazilian investigations and judicial proceedings.

Miami, Florida, United States

Martha’s practice includes white-collar criminal cases and commercial civil litigation. She also advises individual and corporate clients in parallel US and Brazilian investigations and judicial proceedings, assisting them to navigate through both complex legal systems.

Worldwide

Compliance and investigations consultancy services to the following top global organizations: the International Monetary Fund (2,400 employees), the United Nations (40,000 employees), the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), on compliance of standards of conduct, complex fraud, corruption, sexual harassment and other forms of wrongdoing affecting those organizations sponsored programs and individual lives across the world. Cases included:a) Allegations of staff misconduct, sexual harassment, discrimination, workplace harassment, retaliation, discrimination, fraud, conflict of interest, corruption, gifts, kickbacks, leak of confidential information, and advisory opinions and reports to high rank officials and senior management. b) Extensive planning and preparation for complex investigations in camps of refugees in Africa, Haiti and in executive offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland.c) Thorough review of complex documents in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French, liaising with high senior level officials of international organizations, as well as with government officials in various countries. d) The review, drafting of policies, operating procedures and investigations of anonymous complainants, whistleblowers, and hotline tips.e) Drafted the IMF Manual of Internal Investigations focusing on protocols and standard operating procedures for the handling of complaints of staff misconduct, the conduct of internal investigations, including fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, leak of sensitive Board of Directors information, workplace harassment, sexual harassment. f) Sensitive interviews with complainants of of sexual misconduct and the subjects of such allegations, consistent with best practices.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

World Bank Group, Washington, D.C. Attorney Investigator, Integrity Vice-Presidency, Office of Ethics and Business Conduct (2012 – 2014) Investigated and recommended appropriate action on cases of corruption, fraud, discrimination, workplace harassment, retaliation, sexual harassment, financial disclosures, conflicts of interest in multi-million-dollar projects in Latin America, Africa and South Asia. Advised senior management on business and compliance matters, including debarment and sanctions proceedings related to projects funded by the World Bank Group worldwide.

New York City

Conducted internal investigations of violations of ethics and business policies, including, but not limited to, fraud, corruption, money laundering, discrimination, workplace harassment, sexual harassment and retaliation by UN officials. Reviewed internal complaints mechanisms, including hotline procedures and policies on protection against retaliation. Co-authored standard operating procedures and the first UN Internal Investigations Manual. Co-authored and facilitated the first UN training on sexual harassment investigations in various countries. Counseled the UN and its agencies in New York and in regional UN Offices in Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Europe on violations of standards of conduct and administrative policies.

Timor-Leste

United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), Timor-Leste UN International Prosecutor and Trainer of Prosecutors, September 2005 – December 2005Prosecuted residual war crime cases, tried and investigated cases under national law. Trained the first group of national judges and prosecutors. Counseled UN senior officials and Timorese parliament on various legislative, rule of law and internal procedures to handle ethics concerns.

Arlington, Texas

This was my first job experience in the United States, where I learned from seasoned trial lawyers how to prepare a case for jury trials, discovery, legal research, drafting pleadings, preparing for depositions, among other.Conducted extensive analysis and review of evidence to support complex mass tort litigation claims and environmental lawsuits representing the interests of groups of plaintiffs.Conducted investigations related to environmental law claims and interviewed approximately 200 clients in a small town in southern Texas, in Spanish language.Assisted lawyers in the preparation of cases for trials and depositions.Became familiar with software used in investigations and trial preparation (Summation) and electronic case management system (Needles software).Obtained experience with the American common law, civil procedure, pre-litigation and trial procedures and tools utilized to summarize complex documents.Conducted investigation on behalf of the law firm in a small town in southern Texas (Quemado), interviewing approximately 200 individuals affected by gasoline and other fuel contamination, suffering from cancer and multiple skin diseases, by spill and infiltration of gasoline in the main water stream. These victims were plaintiffs in a collective lawsuit filed by the firm against the major oil companies established in Texas.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Prosecuted thousands of complex criminal litigation cases, including cases that involved misuse of public assets and funds, fraud, corruption of public officials, procurement irregularities. Other cases involved organized crime, mostly related to drug trafficking cartels; torture; child labor exploitation in sugar cane plantation farms; child sexual abuse; multiple murders arisen out of a same event; rape and other violent crime.Investigated and supervised investigations initiated by police officers and managed investigations in high profile criminal cases.Interviewed witnesses, victims, suspects and defendants, in addition to interaction with defense counsel and judicial authorities.Investigated and prosecuted government officials for unlawful use of public funds, corruption and abuse of public authority.Prosecuted approximately 10,000 criminal cases to verdict, via the Brazilian procedure of submission of the case on briefing, and successfully tried another 30 major criminal cases as the lead prosecutor in jury trials to final verdict. Prepared extensive oral and written submissions addressing complex legal matters associated with cases I prosecuted, such as indictment and extensive briefings, including appeals, in complex fraud cases affecting hundreds of victims.Worked on thousands of criminal and civil cases every year. Most of the criminal cases I worked on involved investigation and prosecution of public officials for misuse of public assets, fraud and corruption, drug trafficking, organized crime, crimes against property (such as robbery and theft) and violent crime, in various locations, including Sao Paulo city, where that city averaged 80 murders per week.Led investigations and prosecution of cases involving issues ranging from child labor exploitation in sugar cane plantations, to environmental crimes affecting hundreds of thousands of people, to violent crimes and high-profile drug trafficking and organized crime.

Fort Worth, Texas

Learned strategies employed by American prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in investigations involving drug-trafficking cases and exchanged my prosecuting experience in the Civil Law System.Prepared summaries for use by the Grand Jury and assisted prosecutors in trials.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Furnished legal counsel and advice, drafted and interpreted legal documents and pleadings

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Prepared court documents, assisted judges in trials, and conducted legal research in criminal law, constitutional law, and criminal procedure.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

This was my first job experience. I worked fulltime while attending law school in Brazil - a five year program. My assignments included drafting court documents, assisting judges in trials, and conducting legal research in criminal law, constitutional law, and criminal procedure.

Jd And Llm, Law

Master Of Laws (Llm), International And Comparative Law

Activities and Societies: International Law Society

Brazilian Jd Degree, Law